Wagering game terminals, such as slot machines, video poker machines, and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. The popularity of such wagering game terminals among players generally depends on the perceived likelihood of winning money at the terminal and the intrinsic entertainment value of the terminal relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing terminals and the expectation of winning each terminal is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are likely to be attracted to the more entertaining and exciting of the terminals.
Consequently, wagering game terminal operators strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting terminals available because such terminals attract frequent play and, hence, increase profitability for the operators. Thus, in the highly competitive wagering game terminal industry, there is a continuing need to develop new types of games, or improvements to existing games, that will enhance the entertainment value and excitement associated with the games.
One concept that has been successfully employed in existing wagering game terminals to enhance player entertainment is the use of progressive games. In the gaming industry, a “progressive” game involves collecting coin-in data from participating gaming device(s) (e.g., slot machines), contributing a percentage of that coin-in data to a progressive jackpot amount, and awarding that jackpot amount to a player upon the occurrence of a certain jackpot-won event. A jackpot-won event typically occurs when a “progressive winning position” is achieved at a participating gaming device. If the gaming device is a slot machine, a progressive winning position may, for example, correspond to alignment of progressive jackpot reel symbols along a certain payline. The initial progressive jackpot is a predetermined minimum amount. That jackpot amount, however, progressively increases as players continue to play the gaming machine without winning the jackpot. Further, when several gaming machines are linked together such that several players at several gaming machines compete for the same jackpot, the jackpot progressively increases at a much faster rate, which leads to further player excitement.
Another concept that has been employed is that of a secondary or “bonus” game which may be played in conjunction with a “basic” game. The bonus game may include any type of game, either similar to or entirely different from the basic game, and is initiated by the occurrence of certain pre-selected events or outcomes of the basic game. Such a bonus game has been found to produce a significantly higher level of player excitement than the basic game alone because it provides an additional chance to play, which increases the player's overall expectation of winning.
In current wagering game terminals, in general, once a player leaves a game, there is little incentive for the player to return to the game at a later time. Typically, upon termination of play, the player is immediately awarded the balance of any credits, but also loses any unused or unredeemed game assets that he may have accumulated. For example, some bonus games involve the player collecting game assets until a certain number or combination of assets is accumulated, at which point the player wins an award. However, if the player leaves the game prior to winning the award, he loses all of his game assets and is forced to start from the beginning the next time he plays. There is no way for the player to transfer the game assets to another player, for example, in exchange for monetary value. Thus, with all of his game assets gone, there is little incentive for the player to return to the game at a later time.
Thus, in general, there is a need for wagering game terminals that allow players who accumulate game assets to retain those game assets, or at least the benefit of those game assets. In particular, there is a need for wagering game terminals that allow players who accumulate game assets to be able to transfer the game assets to other players.